Posted on 07/25/2019 3:14:30 PM PDT by PROCON
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground conducts developmental testing of multiple facets of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery project, from artillery shells to the longer cannon tube and larger firing chamber the improved howitzer will need to accommodate them on November 18, 2018 (U.S. Army photo)
The future of Army long-range precision officially has a name.
The Army confirmed on Monday that it plan on designating the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program's brand new 155mm self-propelled howitzer as the M1299, Army Recognition reports.
Developed in response to increasing concerns of near-peer adversaries like Russia and China, the ERCA gun nailed targets with pinpoint accuracy at a range of 62 kilometers during testing at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in March, far outstripping the range of both the M109A7 Paladin (30km) and M777 (40km with the M982 Excalibur guided artillery shell) howitzers.
Compared to those systems, the M1299 will receive two "leading-edge technologies," as Army Recognition reports: the experimental new XM1113 rocket-assisted artillery shell, and a longer 58 caliber tube designed to boost the conventional howitzer range from 38km to 70km and, eventually, an eye-popping 100 km "within the forthcoming four years."
Extended Range Cannon Artillery, or ERCA, will be an improvement to the latest version of the Paladin self-propelled howitzer that provides indirect fires for the brigade combat team and division-level fight (U.S. Army photo)
"We know we need the range in order to maintain overmatch," Col. John Rafferty, head of the long-range precision fire cross-functional team, told Defense News. "We need 70 to 80 kilometers because that's the start, and then we will be able to get farther. Right now we are on a path to 70 kilometers with ERCA."
Extended range is only one element of the Army's never-ending pursuit of lethality. The M1299 will incorporate a fully automated ammo loading system to boost the howitzer's rate of fire from 3 rpm to 10rpm, although Defense News reported in March that the Army doesn't plan on fully incorporating the system "beyond the first iteration" until 2024.
Soldier may not need to wait that long to get their hands on the ERCA program's new tech, though: the official M1299 designation comes just weeks after the Army awarded a $45 million contract to BAE Systems to integrate various elements of the ERCA system into the service's existing and future Paladin howitzers.
Anyway, congrats to the M1299 on its induction into the world of alpha-numeric military designations. We hope your upcoming baptism is a baptism by fire.
Same here.
Uh ... is that right? I mean, .45 caliber is a pistol cartridge, roughly .41 inches. A 58 caliber would then be 58 inches. And yeah, that's one big gun, but I doubt the projectile is almost 6 feet in diameter.
No, I am talking about Big Bertha of WWI. They shelled Paris from 75 miles away.
Geez, you don’t even have to tow it.
I remember when a 175 was quietly positioned behind our small HQ at Tam Ky in I Corps, Viet Nam. When it fired off everyone hit the floor. After checks to see if arms and legs were in place the CO, who thought the world had come to an end, took a couple of knuckle draggers and convinced the self-propelled unit to find another location to terrorize.
I see 155 mm and “58 caliber tube.” In the article. Can you explain how those fit together in the same vehicle??
Is caliber for howitzers different than caliber for firearms?
I remember being told in Vietnam that the 175 round reached a height of 33,000 ft. at max range. That often crossed my mind while traveling by Huey.
“Wonder if there will a civilian model. .”
Yeah, but no pistol grip, flash hider, or bayonet mount.
62 kilometers. That’s like hitting the Washington Monument from the inner harbor at Baltimore.
58 caliber means that the length of the barrel is 58 times the diameter of the projectile. Therefore, 58 x 155 mm = 8.99 m (29.49 ft).
“I remember being told in Vietnam that the 175 round reached a height of 33,000 ft. at max range. That often crossed my mind while traveling by Huey.”
I read about an observation plane pilot over the beach during a landing that had an Iowa class broadside go by him. I got the impression that he was impressed.
Now THAT is useful technology! The beer store across the lake will have my coordinates all zeroed in...
Opp, sorry. My bad.
Just starting through one day to see crew ducking out of the turrets with hands over ears. No warning when they cut loose, the ones on our right aimed right over the road. Geezus what a sound.
Wonder how many of those guys are on VA disability with no hearing left. Sure did nto help my hearing any being that near the salvo.
I love artillery and the sights sounds at the ranges was beautiful especially at night. I was always infantry but we knew who our best friend was in artillery.
“Wonder if there will a civilian model. “
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Semi-auto only, May capacity depending on your state.
that's a designation, i'm sure the Redlegs will give it a name... i wonder what Jerry Bull would have thought of it?
They were supposed to call out direction and "max ord" of the shot, which I assumed was the height. I would hear them call most of the time.
Did have one salvo go by quite close, giving the CH-46 a good jostle and pissed off pilots. Apparently was not announced over the radio.
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